Mohammad Kaif picks his playing XI for 1st IND vs WI 2025 Test, leaves out Kuldeep Yadav

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has revealed his predicted playing XI for the first Test of the two-match series against the West Indies, scheduled to begin on Thursday, October 2, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Speaking on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, October 1, Kaif picked KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers, with Sai Sudharsan at No. 3, followed by captain Shubman Gill. With Rishabh Pant sidelined due to injury, Dhruv Jurel was slotted at No. 5.

The all-rounder spots went to Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar at Nos. 6, 7, and 8. For the final three positions, Kaif opted for a pace-heavy attack: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.

Kuldeep Yadav, who starred in India’s Asia Cup 2025 triumph with 17 wickets in seven games, was notably left out.

Mohammad Kaif’s India playing XI: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.

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“He will not become as aggressive a captain as Virat Kohli” - Mohammad Kaif on Shubman Gill

In the same video, Mohammad Kaif discussed Shubman Gill’s captaincy, comparing his level of aggression to that of former skipper Virat Kohli. The 44-year-old said:

“Virat also had aggression on the field and there was good balance. Many times he was calm too, backing his players. With Gill, I see that he will not become as aggressive a captain as Virat Kohli because he knows that his own nature, his own personality, has to come first.”

“His own nature is to stand calmly in the slips, do captaincy, manage the team properly. Virat Kohli was a bit different, he believed more in aggression, in constantly saying ‘come on’ and keeping players charged up, and that aggression also helped him in his batting,” he added.

The five-match 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between India and England was Shubman Gill’s first series as Test captain, which ended in a 2-2 draw.